Kwetsani Camp
- Okavango Delta, BotswanaLocated in the centre of the Jao Concession, Kwetsani Camp is situated on an elongated island covered with palm, mangosteen and fig trees.
touch the soul of africa
Set in one of the most pristine wilderness areas left on our planet, Selinda Camp rests on the banks of the Selinda Spillway, as it enters the Linyanti River. The private 130,000-hectare Selinda Reserve boasts elephants by the thousands, regular sightings of the Selinda pack of African wild dogs as well as the famous Selinda Lion Pride recently feature in the National Geographic film “Birth of a Pride” by Dereck and Beverly Joubert. The area has a sense of remoteness, a true spirit of Africa, and is a great example of Botswana bush embodying a variety of species and rare animals.
Selinda Camp, a Relais and Chateaux member, represents the meeting place of three cultures: European, Mokololo and Bayei; and is themed to resemble that of the thatched village of Sangwali.
Spears, shields and an African version of Robinson Crusoe is the enduring theme through the camp, and its architectural design elements center around water, air, earth and fire, all of which ground the design. Selinda Camp’s design pays homage first and foremost to Water, with splashes of blue and crystal-clear swimming pools offering views over the equally immaculate Selinda Spillway to ease your arrival, usually by boat.
The billowing silks, which adorn the ceilings of the lounge area, are a tribute to Air and the afternoon breezes that ripple the endless sea of nearby grasses.
Earth is represented in the cornucopia of home-grown meals lovingly prepared in our kitchens, fresh from the earth, and the bright flames of our evening Fire complete the ethos of being in harmony with nature’s natural elements. There is in some cultures a fifth element, ‘metal’, which is also incorporated into the design.
The camp has three expansive guest suites and one separate two-bedroom tented villa, the Selinda Suite. The safari drives, walks, boating, tracking, birding and other bespoke viewing activities are designed to place you in front of the best wildlife the area has to offer for a unique one on one life changing experience, from leopards to elephants and hippos and aim to tick off as many as the 200 or more bird species in the area.
This is a great activity during mid-day siesta or in place of a game-drive. During January and February there is a moratorium on fishing. All fishing is catch-and-release.
Tour includes scenic helicopter flight to Eretsha Village followed by visits to local businesses, farms, traditional transport & hear stories of day-to-day life alongside elephants and other wildlife. Tour structured to occur during day between camp-based wildlife viewing activities. Must be booked in advance and is subject to extra cost and availability.
Another huge benefit of staying within the conservancies is the ability to appreciate the stunning landscape on foot, peacefully, without the noise of engines. We highly recommend this unforgettable experience. Talk to the managers to arrange a good time and location for a walk. Usually early morning or evening is the best time, as the middle of the day is too hot to venture out of the shade. Wear good walking shoes, a hat, and neutral coloured clothing so as not to alarm the wildlife, and take binoculars. Your guide will have water for you. Walks are led by licensed guides with firearm training.
Selinda is primarily a land-based camp; however, depending on seasonal water levels boating is possible on the Spillway in the camp powerboat. Zipping through the Okavango’s network of waterways is an invigorating way to get a sense of the scope of this huge wetland. You’ll undoubtedly have wonderful birding and maybe even some hippo, buffalo and elephant sightings.
While at Selinda Camp there is no set routine, the wildlife knows the most forgiving times of day, and we take its lead. Early morning, late afternoon and evenings are the prime game viewing times - it's when the colors are vibrant, the sun is low and spirits are up. Setting out at dawn, when predators are active, our guides are as keen as the guests to discover the riches of each day in Selinda Reserve. Usually, once the sun is high and strong, we retreat with the herds to our midday resting post, Selinda Camp. Then, as the sun begins to wane again, we head out for the late afternoon to evening, searching for nocturnal wildlife and the action that comes with sunset. But nothing is regimented. Regimes don't suit Selinda, which is why we all love being out here in the first place. Our Toyota Land Cruisers have been specially designed by the Jouberts. The thoughtful engineering provides all-round visibility with removable canvas roofs, and comfortable bucket seats. These rugged, 4X4 vehicles provide access to all of the Selinda Reserve's diverse ecosystems, and do so with ease. Please remember that the cars are open and it can be quite chilly in the early mornings and evenings, so take very warm clothing with you on your drives. There are lined ponchos provided in the vehicles if you get cold while out, so just ask your guide to show you where these are if you need them.
Each of Selinda's guest suites comes with a pair of high-quality binoculars for guest use as well as a professional camera set, including a camera body and lenses. Photos will be downloaded to a memory stick on guest’s departure. Photographic tuition through the Great Plains Wild Studio can be arranged for guests (at an additional cost and booked in advance). Tuition can be either on company cameras or own guest’s personal cameras.
Enjoy an aerial viewing experience with great scenery across the Linyanti/Savuti and Selinda Spillway. Add a 15-minute champagne stop on palm island en route. Must be booked in advance and is subject to extra cost and availability.
The Spa at Selinda is a relaxing and inviting space, located privately above the wine cellar. All treatments and ingredients used in your spa treatments were personally chosen by Dereck and Beverly Joubert in conjunction with Spacology. Spa treatments are at an additional cost.
A full syllabus of bush craft skills for our young explorers. This is a complimentary program that follows in the footsteps of National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, Dereck and Beverly Joubert. An extensive pack will be provided to eager children on arrival, so they can learn about animal calls, how to track wildlife, and other facts and figures about the wild. At the end of a child’s stay, he/she will become a Young Explorer and Conservation Ambassador - ready to go out and tell the world about what they have learned and what they too can do to help protect this beautiful environment.
Great Plains is first and foremost a conservation organization that uses eco tourism as a tool to sustain conservation programs. We even coined a new name for what we do – “Conservation Tourism”. We define it as the use of quality led tourism experiences that are environmentally sound, with the benefits going specifically into making the conservation of an area viable and sustainable.
It is important to us that this is done without any negative influence on the land, on any species that uses that land, or, indeed, on any individual animal. We do not do conservation by triage, killing some to save the rest, because this is a defeatist and disrespectful way of interacting with nature.
Our model takes stressed and threatened environments, surrounds them with compassionate protection and intelligent, sustainable management, and funds them with sensitive, low-volume, low-impact, tourism. Communities are an intrinsic part of this model and benefit directly from it. The final piece of the puzzle is you – our clients and guests – who pay to visit the camps we create, and through doing so, become our valued partners and agents of positive change.
Our philosophy is grounded in the fundamental appreciation of the good in life… Good people, good staff, good decisions, good things we share and enjoy, but most of all we try to extend that “goodness” to our interactions with you, with wildlife, with nature and with the local communities which so depend on them
